A whole new beginning
by ShimmerSplash
Summary: Bubbles is upset. Normally, Butch would enjoy watching the girl cry. Today, he's feeling a little different. A short Butchubbles story.


**Just a short scenario that played out in my mind, and made me want to write it down.**

* * *

"Damn it!" thought Butch, as he wiped some blood from the corner of his bruised mouth. His latest tryst with Buttercup hadn't exactly gone the way he had imagined it would. He had meant to take her by surprise, attacking her in a deserted classroom when she was alone and least expecting it. But somehow, she had managed to sense his presence long before he could land the first punch.

He really needed to up his game if he wanted to bust that bitch's ass. She was getting to be a really strong opponent lately.

"Someday, Butterbitch" he muttered, walking out in the hall. The school was practically deserted now, everyone having left for home a long time ago. He stopped by the water cooler, letting the chill of the water soothe his stinging lip. "The guys are going to laugh about this again." he groaned irritably.

While he was taking a drink from the cooler, he heard a quiet sob. It seemed to have come from near the lockers.

"Who the hell is still hanging around here?" he said to himself.

He walked over to the lockers, trying to see if anyone was there. Sure enough, he found a young girl, huddled in the corner. Her head rested on her knees, which were drawn tightly against her chest. Her body shook slightly, as she let out another whimper.

He could make out the color of her top, even with her long blonde hair falling carelessly over her shoulders. It was powder blue.

Bubbles.

Well, _this _ought to make up for his bad mood. He smiled to himself and walked closer.

"Well, well well. What do we have here?" Butch said loudly, startling Bubbles into looking up. He grinned at her before plopping down beside her.

"What do you want Butch?" Bubbles asked with a sigh, turning to wipe the tears from her face.

"Oh, nothing really. I was just wondering what the sniveling crybaby was up to today. I wanted to let some steam off, and you seemed like the best target. But it looks like somebody beat me to it already". He smirked at the look she gave him, enjoying tormenting her. He could always count on this one to lift his mood.

"So what is it this time? Somebody steal your crayon? The teacher gave you a B on your art project? Did you annoy Buttercup enough to make her whoop your butt?" he asked, hoping it was the latter. The prospect of people irritating the green puff was immensely satisfying.

Bubbles stood up abruptly, her eyes shining with tears. "I am NOT in the mood Butch! If you're looking to pick a fight, go somewhere else! Just leave me alone, okay?!" she wailed, turning around to walk away.

Her sudden outburst took him aback. He knew that Bubbles was someone who got upset easily, but no matter how sad she was, she never took to raising her voice unless something was _seriously _bothering her. A small argument with her sisters wasn't enough to do that. Something was wrong here.

He got up quickly and before she could go out the door, grabbed her wrist to stop her.

"Hey, wait a minute. Don't go."

Bubbles turned around to look at him, her eyes red from crying.

For some reason, this bothered Butch. He wasn't quite sure why, but he realized that he wanted to make her stop crying.

"Tell me what's wrong Bubbles" he said softly.

Bubbles sniffled, and spoke in a tired voice. "Why do you care Butch? It's really none of your business." She started pulling her hand free from his grasp but he tightened his grip on her, making her look up, confused.

"Just – Just tell me what happened, okay?"

"I don't want to talk about it! And shouldn't you be _happy _that I'm upset? You always find it funny when I'm crying don't you? The "sniveling crybaby" that I am. You ought to be pleased!"

Butch winced at her accusation, but held on to her wrist firmly. Then suddenly, he was pulling her towards an empty classroom while Bubbles stared after him, too shocked to protest. He made her sit on one of the benches, and then pulled a chair to sit beside her.

"Now" he said, pulling a handkerchief—seemingly from thin air—and handing it to the startled girl "talk to me".

Bubbles stared at the small piece of cloth that he had thrust in her hands, wondering why he was trying to be nice. Clearing her throat, she got up from her seat. "Butch, I don't know what you're playing at, but I'm not interested in talking to you." So saying, she made to head out of the room.

Butch suddenly pushed out from the chair and grabbed her tightly by the shoulders "Stop running away from me Bubbles!" he shouted, sounding way more disturbed than he ought to have been. "Stop evading the subject! I know I've always hurt you and your sisters, but I'll be damned if I'll let someone _else _make you cry!"

Bubbles was stunned into silence. Butch had never acted like _this _before. She was used to being mocked by him all the time, especially when she was upset. But this was a side to him that she definitely hadn't expected. Why was he suddenly so interested in _her _life?

She didn't know what else to do, other than just tell him the truth.

"Andy Johnson laughed at me when I told him that I liked him. We've been sitting together in History class for a year now, and I thought we were getting along. He was always sweet to me, and funny, making me laugh all the time. We even had lunch together a couple of times. I know he's a popular guy, and that he has a lot of admirers. I wasn't really expecting him to return my feelings. But he _laughed _at me! In front of all his friends! He said the only reason he sat next to me was so I would help him with the lessons. He also said that-that I was the quintessence of a dim-witted blonde who wouldn't know that a guy was taking advantage of her even if that person hit her on the face with it!" Thus saying, she started sobbing, covering her face with her hands.

Butch clenched his fists. He wanted to find this Andy and hit him till he was too weak to stand up. Was this guy a complete idiot? Ditching a power puff girl? If it had been the other two, they'd probably have punched his teeth in. But he had gotten off easy. This was Bubbles. She'd never hurt another person if she could help it. Not even if said person had hurt _her_ feelings.

If it hadn't been for more pressing matters, he would have gone to look for that Bastard right now.

Instead, he went closer and pulled Bubbles into a tight hug. He let her sob against his chest, stroking her hair and whispering that it was okay. He didn't know why he felt this sudden need to make her smile, but he didn't question it. When she finally stopped crying, and looked up, her face streaked with tears, he used his thumb to wipe at them and said, "Bubbles, you deserve so much more than that. You're not a stupid blonde. You're beautiful and one of the kindest people I've ever met. Everyone who talks to you walks away with a smile on their face. When someone is upset, you're always the first person they come to. Heck, even animals love you. Don't cry over an asshole like that, he doesn't know how truly amazing you are."

Bubbles looked at him with strange eyes. She tried to look for any signs of insincerity, but found none. His eyes were clear and at the moment, were looking into hers, intently.

Slowly, she smiled at him and whispered, "Thank you Butch."

He smiled right back at her, glad that she was no longer upset. They held each other like that, gazing into the other's eyes.

"You _do _know that you're beautiful, right?" Butch said quietly. He leaned in to kiss her forehead, the warmth of his lips making Bubbles shiver.

He looked at her closely, noting the tiny freckles spread across her nose. Her eyes—still a bit wet from her tears—were so blue that he could drown in their depths. He gazed at the softness of her lips, and watched her tongue peek out to wet it just a little.

Without thinking, without even realizing that he was doing it, Butch closed the distance between them. His lips found hers and he felt her gasp against his mouth. Feeling her body tremble, he held her tighter, one arm wrapped around her waist while the other ran through the length of her golden hair. He cupped the back of her head, pushing her lips urgently against his, wanting to taste her. His mind was whirling with the sensations that had been brought upon by his action.

Bubbles was too shaken to respond. What was happening? This was _Butch_! And he was _kissing _her! His tongue sought her out, and she moaned, letting him explore her mouth as he pleased.

Just as suddenly as it had began, Butch started lifting his head, his breath coming out in short, ragged pants.

He couldn't believe he had just done that!

He watched Bubbles, looking for any signs of anger. She seemed too dazed to be upset. Realizing he was still holding on to her tightly, he dropped his arms at his side and stepped back.

"Um. Well. That was—different." He said, feeling rather awkward now. He didn't know what had possessed him to kiss a Powerpuff. What he _did _know was that it hadn't been bad. In fact, he could still feel the pressure of her lips against his.

Strangely, he wanted more.

"Bubbles-" he began.

Before he could say anything, Bubbles tore out of the classroom.

"Shit!" he exclaimed. Now he'd done it. He needed to explain to her that what had happened was an accident. Most importantly, he wanted her to know that he had liked it. Quite a lot.

He followed right after her. "Bubbles wait!" he cried. She heard him, but couldn't bring herself to stop. Cursing, Butch ran faster, till he was close enough to take hold of Bubbles. Once again, he was grabbing her wrist, trying to make her stop.

When he finally managed to stop her, he saw that she was blushing furiously, refusing to meet his eyes.

"I'm really sorry. I didn't really mean to scare you like that. It-it just happened!" he said. She mumbled something incoherently and turned her back towards him.

Was this how it was going to be? Would she never even look at him again?

"Bubbles, please, I said I'm sorry. Well, I mean, I'm sorry that I took you by surprise. But I'm _not _sorry that I kissed you. To be honest, I think I should have done this a long time ago. Probably should have used a different approach, asked you out on a proper date and stuff. But I don't regret this in the least. I hate to think that that stupid Andy guy hurt your feelings. I want to break his bones for doing that to you. And I want to really, _really _show you how special you are. Damn, I don't know!" he suddenly threw up his hands. "I don't know _why _I'm feeling this way. I've never had a reason to look at you like that before. All I know is that this feels good. It's different and new. I'm willing to explore this and see where it leads us. If you don't want to, I'll obviously respect your decisions. But please, don't avoid me because of this. I'd hate for us to stop talking because of what I did."

For a moment, he thought she would run away again, but then, she slowly turned around, eyes still not quite meeting his.

"I would like to explore this too" she said in a small voice.

"What was that?" Butch asked, not quite sure he had heard it right.

Finally, Bubbles looked up. There were no longer any tears in her eyes, just a look of uncertainty. She was nervous. "I said I'm willing to give this a try" she said, a little louder than before.

Butch felt his heart start beating rapidly. He let out a breath he didn't even know he was holding back. He couldn't help grinning like an idiot.

"Ok" he said, his smile getting bigger. "Cool".

They stood there watching each other, shuffling their feet, not sure what else to say. They didn't know what they would tell their siblings—who would probably wage a war after coming to know about this—or how they would proceed after today. All they knew was that, _this_ was a whole new beginning, and there were many different possibilities waiting for them.

Who knows, maybe it would take them some place beautiful, changing their lives forever.


End file.
